Beautiful
by Stuckinmycocoon
Summary: One-shot. Takes place right after the events of 'Afterlife'. After being woken up in the middle of the night by Lincoln, Skye has an experience that proves to her what they've all been trying to tell her - that having a gift can be a beautiful thing.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I wish._

_Note: So, the last episode of AoS mixed into my thoughts with the movie 'Stardust' and the Owl City song 'Shooting Star' and created this little snippet as I eagerly await the next episode. Enjoy!_

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"Skye." A hand was shaking her shoulder. She came awake immediately.

"What? What's wrong?"

"That's a useful trick," Lincoln said. It had been his hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Coming awake immediately? It's a useful trick. Wish I could."

"What do you want, Lincoln?" Useful trick or not, it was the middle of the night, or close enough. The clock read 11:58 pm. After the day she had, she just wanted to go back asleep.

"I think you should see something. It's happening tonight. You might not get another chance."

"What's happening?"

"Come on."

"Like, right now?" His only response was a tug on her hand. "Alright, alright, I'm coming." She tugged her boots on, and followed Lincoln out the door. As much as she wanted to stay in bed, the anticipation and excitement in his eyes had her curious.

"It's not far," he coaxed.

"Lincoln, I swear if you got me out of bed because Gordon brought pizza in or something..." The warning trailed off as she realized it seemed like every person in Afterlife was traveling towards a clearing near the big red gate. Some people were carrying lanterns; it lit the moonless night enough for them to see the path.

"Trust me, Skye, you don't want to miss this." He pulled her into a circle surrounding a woman dressed in white.

"Wh..." the question trailed off as Lincoln held one finger to his lips, so Skye settled for using her eyes, evaluating the scene as May had taught her. She could not see their faces well, but she suspected they shared the same look in their eyes as Lincoln. The anticipation and excitement was tangible in the air, except in one place. She recognized Gordon, who had a dark shadow next to him. Raina. She hadn't figured out what she felt toward Raina now – animosity, sure – but she wasn't about to fly off her rocker again. She also picked the woman Jiaying out of the crowd. Jiaying moved toward the woman in white, rested a hand on her shoulder and appeared to whisper something in her ear, before moving off. That seemed to be some kind of signal as all the lanterns were turned off, leaving them in the pitch-black night.

The woman's white dress was visible against the black, and seemed to glow faintly. Skye studied it; some kind of reflective light, perhaps? But from where? Fitzsimmons would know. Her mood fell instantly; her friends were in danger, what the hell was she still doing here? May said S.H.I.E.L.D. was after her, whatever that meant. Not Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D., certainly. Despite recent events, they were still her friends, trying to help her. Her S.O. had sounded...stressed, too, her icy cool broken. Something was seriously wrong.

The glow intensified, bringing her back to the moment. Where was that light coming from? She looked around, seeing everyone else focused on the woman. Oh, right. Think of where you are, Skye, she scolded herself, as she realized the obvious. The light was radiating from the woman. Her senses agreed with her moments later, as a ball of golden light became faintly visible, shining from the woman's chest. The ball grew, engulfing her as she flung out her arms. Skye could start to see the people on the other side of the circle as it illuminated the night, but she couldn't take her focus off the light. It was mesmerizing, beautiful, and it didn't hurt as she stared into it. It pushed past the boundary of the woman's body, lifting her into the air as it did so, still apparently centered around her heart, approaching the circle of people surrounding her. It was like watching the sunrise on fast-forward. The edge of the ball was almost at the circle, but Skye felt no desire to flee this particular unknown. In fact, not even a direct order from May or Coulson could have pulled her away. There was just something that drew her attention in. It could kill her, and she wouldn't care. What this the thing everyone was looking forward to? She could see the attraction.

The light reached her, engulfed her, spread past her, and suddenly she knew. _This_ is what they were looking forward to. And then she stopped thinking. A feeling of warmth filled her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She felt everything slipping away from her – the night, the ground, Lincoln next to her – and didn't care. It was just her and the light and the warmth. The warmth infused her with a sense of comfort and calm. It filled all the dark, twisty places inside her with light, and with that light, came love. In that moment, it didn't matter how many families had rejected her, that her father was a psychopath, that Whitehall murdered her mother, that Grant was Hydra, that her friends were in trouble. It was bliss, pure bliss. She was suddenly filled with confidence in herself, that she could tame this power inside of her and make something beautiful from it. These powers they all had, they could be used for destruction, yes, but they could also be used for beauty. She wasn't a monster, an alien weapon, none of them were. It was what Gordon, what Lincoln, what they all had been trying to tell her.

She opened her eyes, not even realizing that she had closed them. She knew it was still night, but it could have been noon on a cloudless, sunny day. She, and all of them, were enclosed in a bubble of golden light that stretched back to Afterlife. The woman was gone, until she looked up and saw her floating over fifty feet in the air over them. Every face she saw had an expression of the purest bliss, liked a child bathed in and surrounded by love. She found Raina, hood pushed back, all her spikes on display, and thought, "There's beauty there, too", finally finding the compassion deep within her soul. She looked at Lincoln next to her, who had the goofiest smile on his face, and found the corners of her lips lifting up to match it. And then she closed her eyes again and gave herself up to the brilliant light.

It may have lasted only seconds, or several sunlit days, Skye didn't know. Or care, really. Somebody nudged her shoulder. She opened her eyes. It was dark again. The woman in white was back on the ground, supported by Jiaying. People had relit their lanterns, and were starting to walk back. She turned to Lincoln, the source of the nudge. He still a big goofy smile, and she realized, upon reflection, that she did too.

"That was Lucy," he said, simply. "It's her gift."

"It was like, being inside a star," Skye managed to say.

"I know." They stood out in the night together, staring up at the stars, the euphoria still possessing them. "You know, she can make that light so bright it can blind you."

"It was still beautiful," Skye said finally, realizing what Lincoln was, and wasn't, saying. There were two sides to every coin, after all.

"All gifts can be beautiful," Lincoln answered. "It's a matter of control."

"I know that now." And she did. She finally did. They stayed there after everyone else had gone back. She wasn't tired, not really, and she wanted to savor that moment, remember that light and those feelings, healing her. Tomorrow, she would take Jiaying up on her offer, to find the beauty inside her own gift. Maybe she'd show her the trick with the water, that she'd accidentally discovered back at the cabin. Maybe Jiaying could teach her some more tricks, to make things beautiful rather than destroying them. She wasn't a monster anymore. No, she would be magnificent, just like Gordon had said.


	2. Author's Note: Please read

Just a quick note to let you guys know that I've started another 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' story as a response to the last episode of season 2 and to deal with my separation anxiety from S.H.I.E.L.D. over the hiatus. (So thankful it's been renewed! And 'Agent Carter', too!) This one-shot could feasibly stand with it, but I've decided to keep things separate just to avoid confusion. So, if you enjoyed this, check out my new story "A Ripple in the Water".


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